Italy’s head of state dissolved parliament on Saturday following the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Monti, paving the way for a national election in February. “I have just signed the decree for the dissolution of parliament,” President Giorgio Napolitano told reporters after consulting with political leaders. Monti resigned on Friday, a couple of months ahead of the end of his term of office, after his government lost the support of Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right People of Freedom party. The date of the election, widely expected to be February 24, will be decided by Monti’s cabinet, which remains in office in a caretaker capacity.
